My Illness, My Cure
by Amastacia Jadescion
Summary: Naruto is a successful psychologist, seemingly able to cure anyone, until a new patient arrives and with him memories Naruto had tried to forget. SasuNaru. Yaoi.
1. Part 1

This was written as a one-shot Kiriban Reward Fic. It will be condensed to reflect as much, once the final installment has been posted.

* * *

The Term "Multiple Personality Disorder (MPD)" is used here, though the term is not really correct. It was just a liberty I took. Please know that what Sasuke is suffering from isn't really MPD... actually I don't really know what you'd call his 'illness'.

* * *

My Illness, My Cure

SasuNaru (AU)

Part 1

* * *

"Your next patient is a real doozy, Doctor."

Two men walk toward an oak office door. Pausing outside, the eldest of the two took a moment to regard his companion. He was of a lightly shorter stature, a meager five-foot-eight, something the elder took great pleasure in teasing him about. He had broad firm shoulders but shapely hips that gave him a certain feminine flair. He was undeniable a man though. His round face was topped by untamable sunflower blonde spikes, edged by a firm jaw, a narrow slightly upturned nose and two eyes that surely must have belonged to Kami-Sama himself, then given to the boy at the time of his birth. They contained such wisdom, such eager hopefulness, such an indescribable innocence despite the horrors they had witnessed – all encapsulated in endless depths of sapphire blue.

His inescapable eyes, along with his uniquely happy personality and endless patience had given him the opportunity to get through to more troubled souls than all of the other doctors in the facility together, and he had only been here for three years. Patients opened up to him almost instantly and something within his miraculous companion seemed to change the once distressed, seemed to calm them from within and allow them to regain themselves. And yet, despite his obvious talent and success, the boy, Naruto, remained effortlessly humble.

When he had first met Naruto three years ago, had first seen his amazing gift, he had asked how and why the blonde remained single. Surely the girls, and probably the guys too, were besotted with him. He had immediately regretted his curiosity though, when lively cerulean depths turned suddenly dark, cold, bleak, and stormy; not unlike a typhoon crashing upon a desolate and rocky shore. His face had paled slightly, his fists clenched and through pursed lips he quietly forced out, "Kakashi, I understand you mean no harm with your question, but please understand now, I will not date anyone. Ever."

At the time, Kakashi could only nod, a still curious eyebrow raised, totally unprepared for the quiet outburst. He had wanted to ask more, and overtime he did, but the blonde would never say anything more on the matter and Kakashi could no longer bear to be the cause of that tumultuous look that would arise every time he mentioned it. With a sincere heart, Kakashi dearly wished that Naruto would find his happiness. Though, with his attitude and the obvious follow through he had seen over the years, Kakashi was beginning to wonder if the blonde would ever be able to meet someone.

"The patient, Dr. Kakashi?"

The graying man gave the youth before him a sad look for a moment, before regaining his impassive mask and returning Naruto's inquiry. His formal address was a subtle reminder of their current location, though the blonde, he was sure, had come to think of him as a father figure of sorts. The elder man could not suppress a snort at his thoughts. _'Yeah right! An uncle maybe... and a crazy perverted one at that!'_ He looked at the file in his hand or a brief second and then met the blue gaze directed at him.

"Patient 296-AZ38; age 26. All facilities he's been to have unanimously come to the same conclusion. The short version being that he suffers from Multiple Personality Disorder. Each personality seems to embody a different emotion: anger, sadness, happiness, etc, etc. There are ten in all, including his stable persona, though some are more aspects of personality than emotions, in my opinion. Says here, it seems to stem from childhood; years of forced emotional suppression. The estimated time of his first persona split was ten years ago. The file indicates that for all intents and purposes he appeared fine, a bit socially stunted, but fine, until sometime during his sixteenth year. That's all they've been able to discover. He refuses to talk about it."

Naruto looked pensive for a moment, letting the information relayed to him soak in. In the room just beyond the door they stood in front of, sat a youth in trouble. Well, perhaps 'youth' was the wrong word. The man was 26, a year older than Naruto himself, so he was most definitely a grown man. A man who had spend his entire childhood told not to feel, not to love, not to cry, not to hope or despair. Nothing. This man was starting to sound a lot like someone Naruto had once known, someone who had vanished, someone who he had spent the last ten years trying to forget. Someone who was unforgettable.

This man though, had been able to cope with his unnatural repression of the very things that defined humanity. He had caved in on himself. His emotions, which until now had been buried deep within the confines of his soul, came bursting forth. Each a manifestation of the feelings he was denied. What could have caused such an apparently random outburst? Could the pressure have finally gotten to him? Sixteen years was a long time to deal with such trauma, had he simply reached his limit? Could some event, a tragedy perhaps, have triggered his split? Perhaps his parents...

"What about family? Friends? Did they get anything from them?" The blonde asked.

"Mah, well... As I said before, he was unsociable. His... conditioning, if you will, prevented anyone from getting close. He apparently didn't have many, if any, friends. As for his family, his mother and father died in a train wreck when he was sixteen. The tragedy caused his older brother and him to move from their hometown to a city near the elder's collage. Shortly after moving, the patient began showing symptoms of mental instability. His brother threw him into the nearest facility and has been out of contact ever since. Money was placed in a trust fund in order to pay for his expenses, so we've no idea where the brother is at all." Kakashi snorted. "The guy's a real piece of work. His parents die, and his brother flips out so he throws him in a nut house, shoves a wad of cash at the issue and bails." He shook his head. "Now he's got no obligation, and he's free to do whatever he wants with the crazy inheritance that was left to them."

"Them?"

"Yeah, apparently the inheritance was supposed to be divided equally between the boys. The patient's half was to be monitored by the older, but with the onset of his medical condition, the elder went to court and had the younger stripped of his rights to his money."

"What a weasel." Naruto growled out. His calm blue eyes were awash with the intense look familiar to Kakashi, one meaning Naruto was angry. Not at any specific person really, just the general injustice that the world seemed only to happy to dish out.

Though Kakashi could recognize the serious nature of the current mood, he couldn't help but snort at Naruto's ironic choice of insults. The blonde had a peculiar quirk when dealing with new patients. He never looked at his patients name and he requested that his staff not refer to them by name until the patient themselves had told the blonde of their own will, their family included. In this case, the blonde had hit dead-on with his name-sake. Weasel was very fitting indeed.

Naruto looked at the aging man before him. Kakashi was a well built man, and a bit enigmatic when he wanted to be. He was also the second biggest pervert the blonde had ever known. He was in his late forties, had gray hair as long as Naruto had known him, and despite his many and varying vices, he was highly intelligent and completely sane. This being the case, Naruto decided the snort was nothing of real consequence and continued on.

"What about his triggers? What makes him shift from one personality to the next?"

"Some of them are unknown, seemingly sporadic. Most notably he responds negatively to anyone who looks like any of his family members. On the positive side, he responds well, or at least slightly better, toward blonde haired, blue eyed people. Part of the reason he was sent to you."

"Hmm... what about is stable personality? The original him?" Naruto asked, scratching his chin in thought. Already a multitude of treatments were rattling around in his head.

"He's indifferent. To everything. He doesn't speak or acknowledge you with more than a casual glance. If negatively stimulated, he scowls. If positive, he'll smirk. His shifts are marked by five second 'black-outs'. His other personalities however, are not so tight-lipped. Though there are certain things all refuse to talk about."

"Got it." Naruto nodded, steeling himself for the beginning of another arduous journey. He had to banish the thoughts of the one whom mustn't be remembered that continually tried to surface. Certain aspects, behaviors, and triggers of his next patient were so eerily similar to the unremembered one that Naruto had a hard time calming his racing heart, slowing his quietly heaving breath. The unremembered was the very reason he had chosen this line of work, and anytime patients were similar he felt a searing pang of longing and regret.

Once he had prepared sufficiently, in his mind, to face his next challenge, he opened the door to the room beyond. He had decorated his office in bright warm colors. The walls were covered in a warm peach colored wallpaper, the occasional creamy line running throughout, small swirls speckled here and there. There was no desk in his private office, he didn't want to put up any sort of boundary or barrier with his patients, they were to be his equals while together. When Naruto was your doctor, you felt as if you had gained a real friend, not another crack-pot shrink. The room contained two couches, one facing the other, a coffee table in between. A large overstuffed recliner sat at one end of the coffee table, the other was left open and unobstructed. The soft deep brown leather of the furniture, the deep cherry wood of the coffee table, even the carious paintings depicting calming nature scenes, all gave off a feeling of warmth, comfort, safety, and security. It wasn't unlike many family rooms that were in homes all across the country. The only item in the room that betrayed its true purpose was a small framed diploma, certifying Naruto's psychological capabilities.

Amongst all of this warmth and comfort sat a straight backed man. His features were dark, his skin pale, his clothes black. It was as if he had stepped out of an old black and white photograph, and into the world of color which he didn't belong. As Naruto, technicolor embodied, stepped through the threshold the monochromatic figure raised his head. Naruto absentmindedly cursed himself for never asking his patients name, but it wouldn't have mattered either way. He never turned away a patient. Even given years of forewarning and the time to plan, prepare, to fortify his defenses; he knew in that split second none of it would have helped in the least. His breath, heaving moments ago, would have left him once again, as it had now, just the same. His heartbeat which he had so foolishly thought he had calmed was now racing with insane speed and he was sure it would never slow, no matter the warning. His very soul, strong and confident, brilliant and calming, would now tremble and crack, would be just as brittle and full of longing all the same.

Two bodies froze, two sets of eyes widened.

A smirk.

"Hn. Dobe."

Two sets of eyes closed.

One body hit the floor.

* * *

Naruto (c) Kishimoto

Plot (c) Me


	2. Part 2

My Illness, My cure

SasuNaru (AU)

Part 2

* * *

For the first fifteen years of his life, Sasuke was a perfect Uchiha. He excelled where others failed. His aristocratic features were hauntingly beautiful, even in is youth, yet they never changed, he always wore a face of indifference. Through out his life, Sasuke had no lingering attachments. Even his relationship with his parents was solely based on the fact that they had sired him, love played no part. At school he associated with no one, ignored his crazy mob of delusional fan-girls, and focused entirely on his school work. That wasn't to say that he was unpopular. In fact, he was always the most popular kid in school. He never understood the reason for his unfounded popularity, kid's were weird, and ultimately he didn't care. He had a few acquaintances, those he would occasionally spare a passing word with, after all, Uchiha's had to maintain appearances and potentially beneficial contacts. Anything more was unbecoming of the Uchiha name. Anything more and it would have required an actual investment into any given relationship, emotions would come out. Uchiha's do not show their emotions. Uchiha's do not _have_ emotions. Emotions led to bonds, mistakes, weakness. Uchiha's were not _weak._

Such was the life of Uchiha Sasuke until _he_ came. He turned Sasuke's world inside out and backward and the Uchiha was powerless against the storm of oncoming change. This boy refused to relent to Sasuke, refused to ignore his indifferent and callous attitude. He had tried to push the boy away countless times, but it never worked. The kid had more determination than anyone Sasuke had ever met, his family included, and it came to a point where the raven haired youth came to be in awe of this force of nature that had blown into his life like a hurricane.

Slowly, and somewhat begrudgingly on Sasuke's part, the two became _friends_. They began spending more and more time together, much to the shock of everyone around the pair. Sasuke had even gone so far as to introduce his new companion to his parents. The boy's own parents had died long ago, but while alive they had been very prominent figures in society. As such, the Uchiha's had accepted him as a suitable companion for their son. Thus, in his Sophomore year of high school, Sasuke had began to change. By the time the school year ended, he would occasionally let a small smile replace his trademark smirk, he had gained a friend, and once, someone had heard him laugh.

Eventually the strange bond between the two evolved into something more, and something infinitely stronger. Sasuke had never imagined himself falling in love, but by that point there was a lot about his life now he would have never imagined and all thanks to his little blonde 'savior'. He had changed everyone he was around for the better, no one was spared, not even Sasuke's family. So when Sasuke once again stood before his parents with Naruto, this time to tell them of his love for the boy and the boys returned love, he was only mildly surprised by his parents approval and support. Their whirlwind romance was short lived, however. The morning after sharing themselves completely with one another for the first time, Sasuke was awoken by a call that would change his life.

His parents were dead.

The light of his life had already awoken and gone to work at his part-time job, so Sasuke had jotted down a rushed note and ran out the door. They never saw each other or spoke again.

His parents death affected Sasuke more than he thought it would, again thanks to his angel, but it wasn't unbearable. The thing that tore Sasuke apart was leaving. Because of the sudden deaths and impending responsibilities, Sasuke was forced to move to next day. He had been beside himself with rage at his elder brother for ripping him away from his blonde for months, before Itachi finally pushed him over-board.

"I told him you died. He's moved on. You should as well. We're never going back."

Sasuke snapped.

* * *

Naruto regained consciousness fairly quickly, but not quick enough. As he opened his eyes, he found a distraught, sobbing Uchiha in his lap. His body tensed. He had not touched this man in 10 years, had believed he was dead. The sensory overload was too much and he saw blackness encroaching on the sides of his vision. As he passed out yet again, he heard a quiet pleading voice coming from his chest.

"Mine... mine... mine..."

* * *

Sasuke knew when he had 'shifted'. He wasn't sure if it was normal for him to be aware as he did so while being unable to control his words or actions, but then again, nothing about this situation was "normal". He was simply watching as some unseen aspect of himself drove him on. Or, that's how it usually worked, but as soon as his blonde walked through the door, everything went to hell. He could move his body almost as he liked, but his voice, his tears, everything else, was haywire.

As he rose from his seat and made his way over to an unconscious miracle, Sasuke felt himself shift several times. His mind was a tumultuous concoction of thoughts he could not decipher. A million knives of white hot emotion sliced through his head; screaming rage, consuming woe, burning passion. His body, too, reacted. He could feel himself shake, his fists clench only to open then clench once more. His pupils were dilated, exposing more of the crazed look shining through ebony depths. His heart raced, adrenaline coursing through him causing a light sheen of sweat to break through his pores, making his skin prickle and crawl. He felt as if he were dying and being born all at once. It was such a disorientating feeling that he was unable to get his bearings for a moment. When he had, he found himself hanging on to his Naruto, _Naruto_, crying and repeating the same word.

"Mine... mine... mine..."

Even when he had realized it, he had no desire to stop.

He could feel the blonde awaken, could feel him tense, but when he was lax once again Sasuke's inner self let out a primal scream. Unfounded thoughts of Naruto's death and having lost him just as he had found him tore through his brain. He screamed aloud.

"Naruto!"

He couldn't breath, couldn't see. He shook the blonde trying to rouse him, his throat raw and hoarse from the volume and frequency of his cries piled on top of years of disuse.

A panic attack.

Darkness.

* * *

"Mah... Well... that was... interesting." Kakashi glanced down at his cell phone. "Ah! It's Thursday! The new Icha Icha comes out today!" He turned, left the room, gears set to 'Icha', and on a one way track. As he made his way down the hall, he faintly heard two simultaneous groans and smiled to himself. Perhaps Naruto wasn't as doomed as he had once thought.

* * *

"I can't treat him, Tsunade."

Tsunade. Ah, Tsunade. The name alone was enough to evoke a fear far greater than anyone who worked at Sannin Psych had ever known. She was the director of the facility, sixty years old, looked thirty years old, and had the largest chest Naruto had ever seen. Ever. The old man down in room 461 had registered as a permanent resident, despite the fact that he had no real mental illness, simply so he could have his 'inspiration' in front of him at all times. The man, Jiraiya, was in fact a well to do author of the infamous Icha Icha series. The institution tolerated him only because he made a hefty contribution every month and he didn't bother the staff or take up any of their time. Tsunade tolerated him only because of the patient-doctor agreement everyone had to sign that stated that there was to be no sexual contact between the two. To Naruto, she was like a grandmother. A scary grandmother, to be sure, but one none the less.

"You can. You will." She glared down at him.

"It's a conflict of interest. It's not professional." Naruto argued.

He really couldn't do this. He didn't even know where to start. How was he supposed to treat Sasuke's emotional turmoil when his own emotions were in a similar state? How was he supposed to heal Sasuke when he was just as injured? Not only that, they _knew_ each other; wasn't there laws against him treating him? He couldn't do it. Absolutely not.

"Tell you what, Brat. I'll show you the video we have of me interviewing him after your little naps. After that, you will at least talk to him. If after that you still feel the same way, I'll reconsider changing his doctor." The busty woman raised her eyebrow at the pleading look sent her way, twisting one of her long pony tails around one of her fingers.

After a moment, Naruto sighed, slumped back into his chair, and crossed his arms over his chest grumbling, "It's not like you're actually giving me a choice are you? Do it, or lose my job. Damn Granny, I told you Sasuke and I were-"

She held up a wrinkle free hand to stop him. "I know. Trust me, Naruto."

He sighed again. _'Well when she puts it that way...'_

* * *

Naruto stared at the screen before him, curiosity over-riding his own stubborn refusal. For the last ten minutes he had watched as Tsunade asked Sasuke several questions, all answered with grunts and glares. So far the questions had all been mundane. Your name, age, etc., etc. But the last question; (How do you know Naruto?), had Sasuke jumping to the edge of his seat. Tsunade snickered behind the blonde as he mimicked the raven's action.

"Where is he?"

Onscreen Tsunade made a small note in her file, she had purposely used the blonde's name instead of calling him doctor, before answering. "He's making his rounds."

"I want to see him."

"You can see your doctor anytime you like, as long as he's available."

"Hn."

All other questions were once again met with grunts and glares. Not even mentioning Naruto again got a reaction out of the Uchiha. After another ten minutes of pointless questioning, Tsunade turned off the monitor, though Naruto had stopped paying attention long ago. Inside, he was weeping. Sasuke, his Sasuke, who was alive; ALIVE!, had looked dead. He had even shifted once during his time with the director, but even this side, (they couldn't decipher which one), was lethargic and unresponsive. It had caused a physical pain inside the blonde seeing him that way.

He barely made it to the restroom in time to prevent up heaving his lunch all over the conference room.

* * *

"Uchiha." Tsunade greeted as she entered his room. He gave no reply, causing the busty blonde to roll her eyes. "Naruto says he can't treat you."

_'Well _that_ certainly got a response. The kid had to have given himself whiplash.' _

"Where is he?" Sasuke growled out, glaring.

Tsunade reached out behind her, her hand disappearing behind the partially opened door and pulled a struggling Naruto into the room. She shoved him into a chair positioned into the corner of the room before calling out, "Play nice!" and slamming the door behind her.

Sasuke glared. They hadn't seen each other in ten years, but Naruto knew that look. The Uchiha was livid. He gulped.

"Dobe!"

"D-don't call me that, Teme!" Naruto flushed. Once it had been an insult, then a pet-name, now; he wasn't sure.

"Hn." Sasuke let his eyes wonder over Naruto's body. He had matured a lot over the last ten years. Where he had been cute before, now he had become something beautiful, ethereal. He unconsciously licked his lips. "She said you won't treat me."

"Y-yeah, con-conflict of i-inter-"

"You _will_ treat me." It was a demand.

Naruto puffed out his cheeks in indignation. "Dammit, Teme, I didn't become a doctor to be ordered around by those who may or may not be my patients!"

"No, you didn't." Sasuke smirked.

"That's right! I became a doctor to help people like-" Naruto was gesturing around wildly in the sudden confidence of his rant. That bastard was still the same as ever.

"You became a doctor to treat _me._" The raven's smirk widened.

"...-you... I did not! I thought you were dead! I thought-... he said-..." Naruto sat back down in the chair he had vacated during his outburst, his elbows on his knees, his face in his hands, his shoulders slumped.

Sasuke almost stopped there, seeing Naruto in such a defeated state, but he couldn't. He had to have him. He rose from his bed and made his way over to the blonde. As he crouched in front of him, he gently raised his head from his palms and placed their foreheads together. For a moment he just stared into blue windows of a soul so pure he felt tainted, a soul so haunted, he felt an unrepressable surge of guilt; a soul devoted to him.

"Dobe, Naruto. I..." Sasuke frowned and bit his lip. "I... I _feel_ when I'm with you. I always have, more than I wanted to at times, but..." He closed his eyes and sighed.

"I-I'm sorry. Neither of us had any control over the situation, and things ended up escalating, but, I'm sorry you had to endure that." He opened his eyes once more, eyes brimming with tears staring into each other.

"You've always been able to... I don't know... you have this power over me, you know you do... And once you said that you l-lo-... well that's not the point, the point is that I need you." Sasuke ran his hands through disheveled yellow locks, gripping slightly and pulling their faces slightly closer.

"I _need _you."

Naruto's breath hitched. Here, now, staring into these onyx depths, was life; _life!_ His heart soared at seeing Sasuke this way. Alive. But he couldn't do this... right? They were both so messed up by this point when it came to one another, that it might very well do more harm than good. They could end up irreparably scarred, torn, broken...

"You need _me_."

The blonde flinched. It was an undeniable fact. Every aspect of his life was devoted to Sasuke, without actually having a secret shrine to the bastard in his closet. He had once been a bit of a troublemaker, never very studious. But when Sasuke had 'died', (suicide, he had been told) Naruto had calmed, and studied more than ever. He had blamed himself. He had been Sasuke's light, he knew that, everyone knew that. It wasn't enough, _Naruto_, wasn't enough. He never wanted to fail someone like that again. He had never dated again either. He loved Sasuke, and only Sasuke. A small whimper escaped him.

Sasuke smiled. "We can cure each other."

Naruto sat wordless for what seemed an eternity, before a small smile showed a hint of his white teeth.

"...yeah..."

Sasuke hadn't shifted once.


	3. Part 3

My Illness, My Cure

SasuNaru Yaoi (AU)

Part 3

* * *

2 Years Later

* * *

Therapy with Naruto was a strange thing. Every other doctor had asked never ending pointless questions punctuated only by silence. Why would Sasuke ever divulge himself to those whom dared pretend they cared. He was just another patient to them. Another check to deposit in their already overflowing bank accounts. Another boost to their already over inflated egos. Naruto though... Well it was obvious the dobe cared. He spend ninety-percent of his time with Sasuke, whether during working hours or not, only leaving his side to shower and sleep. No one could doubt his dedication, despite his misgivings in the beginning. He had even petitioned repeatedly to Tsunade to allow himself to stay within the facility longer than what was considered 'proper and professional'.

Their time together was filled with the regularities of common everyday life. They would just sit and talk, watch cheesy day-time television, or try to demolish each other in their favorite video games. Slowly, Sasuke regained control of himself. His recovery, however, wasn't a miraculous over night story. He had been in steady decline for a decade and his past, his inner thoughts and demons, would often torture him. Of course they would. He knew he was "crazy" and would repeatedly delude himself into believing the blonde's appearance was nothing more than a hallucination, his brain's way of screaming out for some sort of reprieve from his nightmare. During these times, he would lapse back into apathetic disparity. The raven would clench his eyes tightly shut and block out all sounds, repeatedly telling himself it wasn't real, couldn't be real. When he was stable though, there was no doubt as to the reality of his dobe. No matter which side of himself was presented to Naruto, he acted as if he were just Sasuke. And only the real Naruto could invoke such a tumultuous reaction from within him.

Their never-dormant feelings too, were rapidly expanding, making their current "professional" relationship harder and harder to abide by. At one point, Tsunade was forced to put Sasuke in a straight jacket. Not because of any violent behavior, but simply to prevent Sasuke's newly emerged and aggressive perverted behavior towards his blonde dobe after walking into the raven's room and catching him with his hands down Naruto's pants one too many times. For the past two years, Sasuke had tried again and again to claim Naruto for his own. He knew that the blue-eyed youth was devoted to him and him alone, but the urge mark him, to put a physical representation of himself on Naruto was something he was not able to repress.

_'Well,'_ Sasuke thought to himself, an unholy smirk creeping upon his lips, _'there's nothing to stop me now.'_

The Uchiha had been released and he and Naruto were currently heading towards the blonde's house. Sasuke glanced over at his dobe driving them to their destination and inwardly chuckled at the obvious nervous anticipation pouring off of him. Unconsciously licking his lips, the raven grinned to himself and diverted his attention out the window once again.

_'I hope he's got some vacation time saved up, he won't be able to walk for a week.'_

As they pulled into the round drive-way of the home they would now share, Sasuke took a moment to observe his new domicile. He hadn't lived in a proper house in over a decade and the idea was one that pleased him immensely, especially when coupled with the fact that he would now be living with his adorable usuratonkachi. The house before him was a modest two story home, painted in a darker shade of blue and trimmed in slate and gray. The yard was large and looked well taken care of, leading Sasuke to believe Naruto had hired a gardener. There was no way, no matter how energetic he could be, that the blonde had kept up on his lawn maintenance this well while also constantly being in Sasuke's presence. There was no fence lining the boarders of the property, but rather a ring of various flowering shrubs and variegated foliage. The left side of the property was separated off, tilled soil awaiting summer planting.

Breaking out of his observations and noticing the blonde making his way up the steps of the wide front porch and into the house, Sasuke hastily followed. As he made his first step into their home, a long hallway meeting him, Sasuke heard a ringing phone. A few paces away Naruto picked up the relentless device, sighing as he answered with a "Yeah, Naruto here." An expression Sasuke couldn't name flashed across tan features as the phone was handed to him. Who would want to talk to him? Who even knew he was here? Curious, he took the phone and let out a hesitant, "Hello?"

"Foolish otouto."

"Itachi!" Sasuke hissed. Instantly his ire was raised, anger and resentment obvious in his tone. Naruto's eyebrows shot up at the raven's exclamation and motioned for Sasuke to keep Itachi on the phone while running down the hall. The younger Uchiha was silent as he followed the blonde into what appeared to be a living room.

"Scared, little brother?"

Sasuke took a moment to glare at the phone before spitting out, "What in the fuck do you want?" His eyes went back to Naruto who having thrown the doors to a cupboard in the corner wide open, was now rapidly mashing buttons on various electronic equipment contained within.

"Now, now, Sasuke. Is that any way to talk to your brother?" Came the amused voice from the other end of the phone.

"I have no brother."

"Still so childish. I see you found that blonde. Pathetic."

"Hn." _'Damn why is that dobe taking so long? I never wanted to talk to this douche again! Why is he even calling? Scratch that. Who cares.'_

"Oh, so apathetic. I thought you were cured?" The eldest Uchiha spat out in disgust.

Finally, Naruto gestured towards Sasuke, signaling him to hang up anytime. He did so, gratefully, but not before a few parting words with his... with his parent's other offspring. "Sorry, life's calling on the other line. Got to go. Please die before we can speak again. Ja." Click. The blonde immediately took the phone from Sasuke and began dialing. Putting it on speakerphone they patiently waited for someone to answer the other end. The raven was curious as to whom the blonde had called. His curiosity was soon sated as a familiar droning tone answered the phone.

"Yeah?"

"Hey! Shika!"

Ah yes, Shikamaru Nara. One of the most mentally gifted persons Sasuke had ever met. Most assuredly the laziest and from the sounds of it, he hadn't changed at all. They had gone to high school together and though they weren't close, Sasuke vaguely remembered liking the guy to some degree.

"What is it this time, Naruto?" The sluggish boy asked, the breath of an obvious sigh squelching through the line.

"Don't say it like that, Shika. I've got a job for you!"

Another sigh.

"Troublesome."

"It's not troublesome at all! Besides, I've already sent everything to you."

"...fine... But if I get shot at again, I'm going to tell Choji to ban you from the restaurant."

Naruto gasped, "You wouldn't! That wasn't even my fault!"

"Yeah, yeah. I'll call you back when I've got something."

"Thanks Shika, I owe you one."

"One?"

"Okay, okay. I owe you thirty-eight. Sheesh. Thanks man."

As the call came to a close, Sasuke once again found his curiosity piqued and looked towards his companion, and perfectly sculpted eyebrow raised in question. Naruto, catching Sasuke's look, smiled rather sheepishly, scratching the back of his neck.

"Well I used to have a crazy stalker about four years ago. That," the blonde gestured toward the cupboard in the corner, "records and tracks phone calls incoming from numbers not programmed into the machine. That asshole, who dares call you brother, separated us, put you away, took everything and then just disappeared. He made a huge mistake in calling here." The blonde pouted before a sudden maniacal glint came into the sapphire-eyed man, along with a grin to match. "I hope Shika lets Gaara interrogate him! He's got this coffin made of sand and once you're in it, he slowly makes it get smaller and smaller... that fucker is going to piss himself!"

Naruto erupted in fits of uncontrolled laughter at the thought. Sasuke though was speechless. Sure, he had hated his brother for all the things he had done to him in the past; but Naruto... He was actually willing to go up against the dirty bastard. The youngest Uchiha had simply been content to forget the bastard had ever lived at all, had been willing to cut his losses and move on. After all, he had his blonde now and no amount of money, rightfully his or not, was worth more than that. He wasn't sure what would happen to Itachi exactly, or if there would be any real "punishment" for him, but the fact that Naruto would go so far, especially after all he had done over the past two years...

The thought caused his heart to race. This being in front of him was more amazing than he had ever given him credit for. How could such a pure-hearted person devote themselves so completely to someone like him? He wasn't sure, but he knew now, as he had known back in high school, that he would never let him go. Whether the blonde liked it or not, he belonged to Sasuke.

"Mine." Sasuke growled as he grabbed Naruto and pulled him to him, their bodies flush. "Mine." The raven wrapped his fingers around the sides of Naruto's neck, pulling his face closer, his thumbs holding a sculpted tan jaw in place. "Mine."

Naruto smiled before closing the miniscule distance between them. After no more than a slight brushing of lips, the blonde pulled back, looking into ebony eyes teaming with churning emotion, with life, and with love.

"I've always been yours, and you, mine. I love you."

For the second time in his life, Sasuke snapped. This time, however, was beautiful and painless, and he welcomed it wholly. Who needed self-control when you had this enticing creature before you now and for the rest of your life? As their lips met yet again, this time more fierce than ever before, the weight of their pasts lifted from them. Sasuke sent a silent thanks to whomever might hear for the man in his arms. Without him, he would never have lived, would never have been ill, and most certainly never have been cured.

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A/N: So there you have it. The end of My Illness, My cure. I hope you've liked it. ^^) Check out my profile for a couple of new links.

If you've read this far and have managed to ignore all my horrible mistakes and lengthy time between updates, I thank you. Also to the many that reviewed/favorited/alerted/etc,... you have my humble gratitude as well, and also a thanks to those that might do the same in the future.

I may add another small portion to this story, a lemon perhaps, if that's something you guys would like to see... let me know ^^)


	4. Bonus Part 1

Thank you all for your support throughout this story! It is technically over, but as requested, here is your bonus chapter! (just a bit of fun, and slightly outside the previous fic genre) It will be split into 2 portions (Itachi torture, & Smut), for 2 reasons. 1 dA hates when I post smut, so as a curtousy to my dA followers, I'll provide a separate link here to that portion. Yay them. 2 The other half isn't ready yet. *sweatdrop* Yeah. So. But it's getting there... 7 pages so far and plenty to go. Lucky you. ^^)

But I hope you enjoy!

Also! A HUUUUGE Thanks to my new editor! shortanimelover I heart you! Without you, this chapter would be a writing catastrophy! Everyone be thankful to her as well!

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Bonus Chapter

Part 1

The soundproof room was small, windowless, and without ventilation, containing only one small rusted metal chair. The walls were splattered with what appeared to be sprays of blood and were painted a disgusting puce color. The floors were unkempt, dirt piling in the corners, a hefty lock barring the door. A small smirk appeared on Uchiha Itachi's face. Even in this dark and dismal room, even with the abysmal florescent lighting, he knew he looked fabulous. The eldest Uchiha hadn't been shocked when several masked men broke into his home and abducted him. Of course not, Uchiha's are never shocked. They are though, often amused and this situation was endlessly amusing for him. The whole lot of them had to be fools, in Itachi's opinion, to even dream of touching THE Uchiha Itachi.

He had been sitting in this room for well over six hours before anyone entered, silence punctuated only by the grating creaking of rusted metal against rusted metal. Itachi had passed the time by meticulously sifting through his strands of dark, elegant hair, searching for signs of split ends and breakage, uncaring for the reasons of his abduction. Of course, he didn't find any; his hair was perfect, just like him. When someone did finally enter, breaking his concentration on his grooming, Itachi couldn't help but laugh.

In walked a rather murderous looking youth, the kanji for 'love' tattooed on his forehead. The tattooed man was seemingly unperturbed by the derogatory laughing coming from the room's only other occupant and instead walked to the center of the room. He quickly stepped on several grungy tiles on the floor in quick succession, causing a rather large portion to slide away and allowing a large coffin looking object to rise from beneath. It was a work of art, beautiful in its darkness. Garra smirked to himself as he eyed his solid black beauty, his back to his captive, when said captives laughter abruptly cut off. The scraping of the chair against cold hard tiles told him his detainee had risen, the footfalls coming closer signaling the bastard's approach.

Garra had known of the Uchihas since their school days. He and Naruto had been good friends and with Naruto, came Sasuke. The red head hadn't really cared for the blonde's dark companion, had thought him rather unsuitable for Naruto. The blonde though would hear nothing of it and in time, Garra had come to accept the dark haired youth. They had even struck up an agreement of sorts. When one was with the blonde without the other, they would be responsible for Naruto's well being. Garra knew it irked the raven to share the blonde at all, but Sasuke knew just as he did, that Naruto was just the sort of person that required constant supervision. That boy could get into trouble quicker than he could tie his shoes.

Itachi watched as the tattooed man lifted the lid off of the coffin, revealing an interior filled with sand. The Uchiha snorted to himself. 'Sand? Were they going to make pretty castles by the water?' Had he known how close he was to the scarring events fate in store for him, he might have concentrated on making his escape, rather than flipping his hair.

"Get in." Came the gruff demand.

Itachi smirked, and got in. What as the worst that could happen? This child had no idea who he was messing with. After laying down in what he supposed was some sort of torture device and finding a comfortable position, the eldest Uchiha only had one thought on his mind. 'This sand had better not get into inappropriate places...'

After sealing Itachi into his coffin, Garra dropped his calm facade. He had been told to interrogate the Uchiha, not torture him; but to him, weren't they one in the same? A look, disturbing to most, appeared on the red head's face. This was the part he loved the most. Quickly tapping a few more floor tiles, Garra retrieved a common garden hose from its depths. After quickly securing the hose to an opening in the top portion of the coffin and making sure the contraption was sealed right, he released the valve holding the water back. 'Too bad,' Garra thought to himself, 'I really wish I was allowed to kill him...' Instantly the icy, clear fluid rushed into the pseudo-tomb. Had it not been soundproof, Garra might have been rewarded with a tiny yelp coming from the Uchiha, a reaction to the sudden cold drenching his body. As it was, though, he left unrewarded after checking to make sure the water levels would not rise to a "dangerous" level, leaving Itachi alone and unsupervised in his beautiful coffin.

Inside, Itachi was grinning unabashedly to himself. This was great! Did they think this would break him? He wasn't sure what they were trying to break, or why he was in this position at all. Still, he was uncaring as it was most probably due to his foolish little brother. As soon as he got out of this rather trite torture session, these people would be wiped off of the face of the Earth and he would deal with Sasuke and his damn blonde. He could feel as the cramped space became even more so, the water slowly filling in the gaps between the grains of sand. It felt as if the device was getting smaller and smaller, the weight settling around him pressing on his lungs. Itachi laughed. 'This is great! I want one of these!'

Fifteen minutes later, Garra returned. He was shocked, however, after removing Itachi from the confines of his "torture" only to find the man laughing as if he had just enjoyed a great joke. The redhead growled, content to leave Itachi half buried in his sand. The Uchiha grinned, thinking he had finally gotten under this man's skin. Didn't people know better by now? No one could out-do an Uchiha. Suddenly though, Itachi's short-lived confidence disappeared. The frustrated look Garra had slowly morphed into something more sinister. Itachi knew that look and for the first time since his capture, he could feel small tendrils of fear grasping onto him. It was the same look Itachi used when he knew he had won and to see it on someone else's face and directed at him was something he had never been forced to endure before.

"Uchiha-san, you have some strange hobbies. Normally my baby here would put the fear of God into any man. Or, at least, the fear of me." Garra smirked, his eyes darkening. "It seems, other methods must be used."

And before he could respond, Itachi watched the young man leave once again. He stared at the closed door for a moment, before shrugging, trying to banish any doubts beginning to creep up. Anything they dished out, he was more than capable of dealing with. Or so he thought. The door once again was opened, this time with enough force to pop one of the hinges off and cause it to slam against the wall behind it.

"Yosh! It's the traitor of youth, Itachi! I, the youthful Rock Lee, will make you see the error in your un-youthful ways!" Screamed a man sporting a bowl shaped hair cut as he rocketed into the interrogation room. Itachi could feel his skin crawl. Torture? No problem. Beatings? Rape? Sure, he could deal with that. But this... this was... this was something no one should be asked to deal with! And these people put themselves in this guy's path purposely? They had to be insane, he thought without reservation as the man began twirling around the room in some sort of mock ballerina dance. Itachi gagged, unable to control his reflex as he looked on to the spastic man and his wriggling eyebrows as screams of youth continually poured out of his mouth like a horrific waterfall of words.

"Yosh! We must rehabilitate your youth!" Lee screamed. Pausing his twirling, he took a moment to look over his companion's appearance. "Ah! We may be able to save your youth yet! I see you've already begun! Your hair is in youthful disarray and you've covered yourself in Garra's youthful sand!" He praised, once again taking up his momentous spinning.

Itachi became frantic. His hair? He vigorously ran his hands through his beautiful locks feeling wet clumps of sand matted within. As he tried to remove the sand, his fingers caught in countless tangles. His breath quickened.

Lee ceased his circular motions, posing in a rather ridiculous way, his eyes shining. He quickly detached one hand of Itachi's hands from his hair and abruptly pulled him from the coffin, uncaring when the raven only slumped to the ground amidst piles of spilled sand.

"Yosh! Let us build youthful sand castles in the sands of youth!"

Itachi was forced to play along, the thought of admitting defeat to this...thing... sent shivers of revulsion down his back. This was sick, Itachi decided, these people were insane. After several hours, and several castles later, Itachi was relieved when Lee stood, appearing to end this madness. Without a word, Lee hit one tile on the floor causing a small uncomfortable looking cot to appear and then left. Itachi was secretly grateful. 'Anymore of that and I would have cracked. It's okay. It's okay. He's gone now. Tomorrow they'll have to implement something else... right?' He thought to himself as he lay on the cot. Blissful sleep came quickly.

The next day, Itachi awoke with sore muscles and frumpy hair. Unable to tame it, he grudgingly gave up and awaited his captors. When it was Lee who once again appeared, Itachi couldn't hold back a whimper.

"Yosh!"


End file.
